Dentists, General in Iowa
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$129,049
after federal, FICA and Iowa tax
Tax takes
$52,471
28.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$145,379
Iowa costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Iowa — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$181,520
Kept after tax
$129,049
Worth in national money
$145,379
State rank
16
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Iowa is 16 of 47 states for dentists, general, with a middle wage of $181,520. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Iowa reports, dentists, general comes in at 6 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Iowa does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $181,520 you keep $129,049, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $145,379 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $198,470, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Iowa ranks 16 of 47 for dentists, general at $181,520. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Dentists, general ranks 6 of 493 occupations by median in Iowa, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Iowa income tax, retained pay for dentists, general on $181,520 is $129,049. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $145,379 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $198,470 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dentists, General
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $100,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $181,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $259,990 |
| This salary | $181,520 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Iowa | $129,049 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $135,335 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,110 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $172,323 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,212 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 89 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Iowa earn less than $181,520. The published range is $100,920 up to $259,990, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Iowa's $129,049, worked from $181,520. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 6 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Iowa, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $145,379, the adjusted value of that $181,520 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 6 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for dentists, general in Iowa the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $100,920 to $259,990. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Iowa take-home of $129,049, on $181,520 for work ranking 6 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 6 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Iowa, so $145,379 — the adjusted value of that $181,520 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 6 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $198,470, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $100,920 at the bottom tenth to $259,990 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Iowa sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $145,379 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Iowa's own levy, $129,049 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Iowa is $198,470. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($100,920) and the ninetieth ($259,990) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Iowa's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $145,379 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $129,049 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Iowa income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.